Gone Awry
by Kelenloth
Summary: Even the most innocent travels can go awry, and when the Doctor can't regenerate, the danger is far worse. A One-shot adventure of 10.5 and Rose in their new TARDIS.


A/N: So I'm publishing this as a one-shot because I didn't know where to put the chapter breaks, sorry it's so long. I'm not sure I'm 100% satisfied with it, but I don't think I ever will be. This wrote itself last night, and I thought I'd share it it. This occurs a few months after my other DW story "Not Domestic" but is in no way a sequel to it. If you don't like the way I write 10.5, then don't read it. This was written only for my enjoyment and posted so that my friends could read it. But as always, Reviews are appreciated. As you all know, Doctor Who belongs to the BBC. And I apologize for any factual or spelling errors. EDIT: I looked back over this and tried to fix some of the issues, but forgive the ones I missed - again. Thanks to my friends Lin and Tira for helping beta it.

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><p>Warm, sticky fluid flowed freely over his hand. Pain shot like fire through his veins. The world seemed to move in slow motion. This could not be happening. Not to him. Not now. The Doctor clutched his side tightly, but he could do little to keep the crimson stains from spreading.<p>

The day had started out well enough. He remembered the blissful peace of morning as he and Rose walked, hand-in-hand, from the Tardis into everyday adventure. He had allowed his ship to choose their landing, and they had ended up on a relatively earth-like planet in an age and area that seemed like a cross between an American western and the world of Sherlock Holmes. Aside from the copper-skinned, semi-reptilian, three-armed aliens, of course.

They were not overly intelligent creatures, but they were in an age of discovery and relative peace. The Doctor had reflected brightly on their future, noting to Rose that once both races developed inter-galactic travel, humans and the Uduak, as they were called, would form an alliance.

They had arrived near the market district of a large city, the name of which, according to the Doctor, was unpronounceable. Just as they had so often before, he and Rose spent the day taking in the local sights, customs, and flavors. They had shared smiles, laughs, and a smoothie. Just like old times.

The Doctor's life had taken a huge turn after his semi-regeneration. He had all of the memories of his other self, save those that had taken place after he had transferred his excess regeneration energy into his hand and was later reborn in a unique biological meta-crisis. He was human now, or at least partially, and it made the world of difference. But he had a family now, he was a married man. He had Rose. And after a long time they now had the Tardis, and they had their lives back. It was everything he could ever have asked for. Which was why he could not bear to lose it now.

He should have known something like this would happen. How could he ever imagine that he and Rose would come to a new planet and not run into some kind of trouble? As night, which was much longer on this planet, approached, the real life of the city began. One thing that the Uduak were very advanced at was pyrotechnics. They had some of the best fireworks in the universe, and would for many centuries. With a night that was almost three Earth-days long, they had a lot of time to practice. All of the shops turned on their glowing lights, and business and pleasure continued long after it was dark. The only difference was the darkness itself. Many sins can be hidden in darkness, and the Doctor, as usual, stumbled upon them.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Did you hear that?" He turned to Rose in sudden question.

"What?" She tried to lift her voice over the sound of the glorious fire-show above them.

The Doctor's brow furrowed deeply as he looked around. They were in one of the narrower side streets of the district, trying to work their way out to find a better view of the sky. He looked towards the many dark corners surrounding them, and heard it again: A distinct _thunk_ followed by a small grunt of pain.

"Come on." He grasped Rose's hand and led her down a road to their left. She followed with a smile, rolling her eyes. She knew that adventure could not stay away from them long. She had married the most danger-prone man in all of time and space. And she loved him for it.

It was much darker here, and the loud echo of the fireworks seemed much farther away. Rose clung to the Doctor's arm, looking cautiously around.

"Please…" A foreign voice came from an even darker alley to their right. "Don't hurt me! I don't have any money, I swear!"

"Doctor!" Rose whispered sharply. He nodded, pressing himself against the wall, and motioned for Rose to stay back as he peered around the corner.

The sky was lit by a brilliant green flame, and the Doctor could make out the silhouette of a large Uduak, almost as tall as the Doctor, a few steps down the alleyway. With two of his three arms he held down what appeared to be another of his kind, much smaller than himself. In his other hand he raised a gun towards the pleading figure.

"Woah now!" The Doctor leapt forward into the light and called out to the mugger in an attempt to draw attention away from his prisoner.

The alien spun towards him, stepping back in surprise. His pistol rose towards the Doctor. "Not one move, or I'll shoot!" His voice, deep for an Uduak but moderate for a human, called out.

The Doctor put his hands up in instinct. "No, we wouldn't want that…" He said, taking a step forward.

The mugger cocked his pistol. "What do you want?"

The Doctor stopped, with a smile. "For you to let that poor fellow go, is all." He answered, subtly waving Rose off with his raised hands, telling her to keep hidden. "What's he ever done to you?"

The Uduak narrowed his eyes, looking the Doctor over, wondering if this traveler had any cash. "He's seen too much, that's what." Came the answer after a short pause.

"Oh no," Said the Doctor sarcastically. "So have I." He took a large step forward as bright blue and gold sparks lit up the sky.

"I said don't move!" The burglar shouted, moving a second hand to the handle of the gun. His victim took the opportunity to break his bondage. In the moment the mugger was distracted, the smaller Uduak wriggled free of his captor's one-handed grasp and took off into the dark.

"D- it!" The criminal spat, momentarily distracted from his new target. The Doctor reached for his sonic screwdriver. But he wasn't fast enough. "Oh no you don't!"

_*BANG*_

The bullet hit its target. In that moment the world seemed to stop spinning.

"Doctor!" Rose screamed, running forward in what seemed like slow motion. The mugger re-cocked his pistol and aimed for the new intruder. But this time, it was he that was too late.

As he fell to the ground, the Doctor drew his screwdriver and quickly nullified the weapon, using the Sonic to prevent the remaining bullets from fitting properly in the barrel. As his attacker pulled the trigger a second time, the gun blew up in his hand.

Cursing again and dropping the weapon, the criminal ran off into the night, clutching his bleeding hand.

"Doctor!" Rose called again, running towards him as he hit the floor.

"Stay back!" The Doctor cried, waving her off frantically. Rose stopped in shock at his motion to dissuade her help. The Doctor grimaced and shook his head, trying to deal with the pain. He had been shot by an Uduak pistol with an Uduak bullet. He knew what came next, and he knew it would hurt.

_*CRACK* _A noise louder than the lights display over head echoed hauntingly through the dark street.

_"AAHHH!"_ The Doctor screamed in pain as the bullet itself exploded inside his abdomen with a flash of white fire, ripping a gigantic hole in his side and erupting with a sickly, red burst. Uduak firearms were made from the same technology as their fireworks, and they were meant to kill. Rose could not stand by any longer. Her shaking hands covering her mouth to keep from screaming, she fell to her knees beside him.

The Doctor cried out and clutched his side tightly, trying to stop the pain and the blood. But he could do little to keep the crimson stains from spreading. "R-Rose…" He grunted.

"I'm here." She held his head in her left hand and placed her right on his gaping wound, trying to help stem the crimson flow.

"We need to…" The Doctor ground out "The Tardis …"

"I know." Rose nodded. Tears welled up in her eyes at the sight of his agony. "You'll be ok." She reached over to try to put better pressure on the wound.

"Rose." He stopped her, grabbing her arm in support and looking into her eyes. "I can't regenerate." He whispered, his voice trembling.

Rose was taken aback by the pure fear in his eyes. She was sure that the terror was reflected in her own as the realization dawned. She had never taken his life – or any of his lives – for granted, but he had never been in this situation before. And it terrified him; The thought of dying, the thought of losing her. And more importantly, the thought of her losing him. Again.

"I'm sorry." He told her. "I'm so sorry…" He whimpered through his teeth, his eyes closing in anguish. She had never seen him so utterly afraid.

"You're not going to die, Doctor." She said strongly, holding his face in her hand. "The Tardis isn't far. Can you walk?"

Nodding his head, the Doctor attempted to raise himself, but let out a cry of pain and sunk back to the ground.

"Come on!" Rose stood and helped him roll onto his uninjured side. "Come on, you can do it." She told him, wrapping her arm around his shoulders and his arm around hers, she half helped and half dragged him to his feet while he clutched his side with his right hand.

She took the sonic from the ground and scanned the darkness before her. He had taught her a few of its uses, one of which was locating the Tardis. "This way." She said, "Lean on me. We'll get there." She told him.

Luckily, the Tardis was only two streets away. Rose prayed that they would meet no more bandits in the dark shortcuts back to their ship. "Hold on." She whispered in the Doctor's ear as they limped along together, his left foot dragging behind.

Every step was another onslaught of nauseating, paralyzing pain. The world around him was a dark blur. The loud blasts of brilliant flame overhead seemed infinitely far away. "Hold on." He heard her whisper again, as she took even more of his weight. He could feel the life draining from him with each drop of blood. Until now, he had never understood the full impact of his humanity. But he was holding on for her. They would be together, for better or worse, till death did them part. And he would not let that be today.

At long last, they reached the Tardis. Rose's hand shook as she tried to fit the key that hung around her neck into the door. Glorious light spilled from the blessed safe-house as she finally opened it and helped the Doctor in, shutting the door behind them.

Grabbing the hand rail for support, The Doctor stumbled only a few feet forward before Rose helped lay him on the metal floor. "Emergency Program Five." He said weakly. Rose went to the Tardis controls and pushed in the command, her blood-covered hands slipping over the buttons. The Tardis immediately began to take off into the vortex.

As soon as the ship was on course, Rose ran quickly to get something to stop and bleeding, and then dropped again to her knees beside the Doctor. "You'll be alright." She assured him again. Tears streamed freely down her red cheeks.

"This is Emergency Program Five." The Doctor's voice, strong and clear, came from behind them from a blue-ish hologram recording triggered by the pre-set course. He and Rose had set the new emergency programs together, in case anything should happen. "Which, unfortunately, means that someone, probably me, has been very badly injured. Bad enough that the Tardis can't heal them, anyway. We are now on course for the Hospital of New-New-New-New-New-New-New-New-New-New-New-New-New-New-New York, On New Earth." The hologram's voice was much too cheery for the dire situation. Both of them remembered making the recordings, but neither of them had thought that they would have to use them.

"Rose…" The real Doctor's voice was weak. His left hand was pressed hard onto his lacerated side, and his right found purchase on her sleeve. "I'm sorry-" he tried to say again.

"Oh stop it!" She told him, pressing a clean, white towel against his large wound. "You don't have to apologize, Doctor." She placed her left hand reassuringly on the side of his face and tried to sniff back her tears. She could feel his single heart pounding madly, his pulse rising far above normal, but becoming weaker by the second. His skin was all at once feverishly hot and unnaturally cold. He was quickly going into shock, and Rose cursed her own helplessness to stop him. "You're not going to die!" She cried again, trying to convince herself just as much as the man that was dying in her arms.

"We should arrive close to the hospital, if I've set the heading right. Hopefully, it'll be the same spot where we originally landed." The hologram Doctor smiled. "That was our_ second_ first date!" He looked to his right where Rose knew she had been standing when he made the recording.

Trying to ebb the flood of tears, Rose almost cursed the nerve of the hologram Doctor, daring to be so happy at a time like this. "You're gonna make it." She whispered. "You've got to."

The Doctor's breath came in short, weak gasps. He had lost an amazing amount of blood, which now stained both of their clothes and hands, as well as dripping down onto the Tardis' inner workings. The touch of human-time-lord's blood seemed to urge the ship to its fullest power and speed. The Doctor's telepathic link with his ship was practically screaming in agony. The Tardis would not let him die any more than Rose would.

For what seemed like an eternity, the Doctor could only repeat Rose's words in his mind. He would not die. He would not! Not now. If anyone knew what death was like, it was the Doctor. He had seen too many deaths, and felt a good number of his own. But this was different. And it terrified him.

With a bit of a thud, The ship finally landed. They had travelled a few billion years into the future, and over three light-years away.

With a prolonged cry of pain, the Doctor forced himself to sit up.

"Come on, Doctor!" Rose wrapped her arms around him once more. "We're close, just like you said." She forced herself to drag him to his feet, even as he screamed in resistance and agony. She could not stand causing him such pain, but she would do anything to save him.

Taking almost all of the Doctor's weight off of his injured side, Rose directed them towards the Tardis door, mentally thanking the amazing blue box for their quick and safe passage.

As they stumbled through the doorway, a large flying vehicle shot by overhead. The sweet smell of apple grass filled their nostrils, but it was tainted by the sickly tang of spilled blood. Rose looked over the bright green hills and coastline. The Doctor was right; they had landed almost exactly where they had on her first trip to New Earth. As she looked to her right, she saw the huge hospital down the coast, a big green moon emblazoned on the side.

From where she stood it looked miles and miles away. Muttering about how stupid they had been for setting the program to be this far away and how they hadn't been thinking, Rose shifted a bit more of the Doctor's weight onto her shoulders, wrapping her other arm about his waist, and began the long trek down the hill, praying that the Doctor would make it to the bottom. "Just hold on." She whispered desperately, her voice tight and her face streaked with tears.

Each step was another torture for the Doctor. But what worried him was that the pain was lessening. He was beginning to lose all feeling in his legs. He poured all of his energy into staying awake. He had to keep breathing. He had to keep his heart beating. He could feel it slowing down. If ever there was a time to be a time lord, this was it. Cursing his human nature, he found it maddening to have so little control over his own body. His hands were shaking and sweating now. His head lolled limply against Rose's shoulder. His feet stumbled. "Rose-" he panted, "I…"

As they reached the bottom of the large hill, Rose struggled to hold onto him. Herself sweating and breathing hard from their struggle, she almost tripped, falling to one knee as he slumped to the ground, trying once more to grip his wound tightly. He could not even apply proper pressure anymore. His body was failing.

The Doctor groaned fiercely as another wave of agony washed over him with every movement. He tried to rise, but could not. The world spun around him in a dizzying blur. "I-" He could not speak.

"Come on!" Rose' determined voice rang out to him once more. Laying him back on the blood-stained grass, she repositioned her arm under his neck and went for a different approach. "Here we go now-" Placing her left arm under his knees, Rose let out a shout of effort as she bodily lifted him from the floor. Adrenaline was rushing through her veins, and for once she was thankful that he was so skinny.

The Doctor's world was collapsing now. He registered the fact that he was moving, but not walking. He faintly registered Rose's arms wrapped tightly around him. As the last shreds of consciousness fled his pained mind, he whispered a weak "I love you." into her ear. He would never _not_ say those words again.

Another wave of strong emotion washed over Rose at his words. Crying even harder, she pushed forwards over the last stretch of coastline. She was almost there.

"Please!" She cried out, hoping that someone at the hospital could hear her. "Help me! Please! Someone help me!" She screamed desperately.

As she came closer to the doors, she could see someone coming out to meet her. The tiniest of smiles at last broke out onto her face as hope seemed to find her at last.

"I'm a-comin' sweetheart, hold on!" A thick, Irish accent called out to her. "You're almost safe, lass." A man was running towards her. She thanked heaven when she saw him. She was almost there.

As the man reached her, she saw that he was one of the cat-people they had first met on New Earth, though obviously not one of the nurses. "Come in, child, I'll help ya." Concern was written all over his face at the amount of blood that covered both of the newcomers. Placing an arm under the Doctor's shoulders, he helped Rose carry him the rest of the way into the hospital.

"Sisters, come'n help this man! He's close to his death!" The cat-man called as they made it inside. They were met at once by several white-clad nurses who brought with them a hospital transport bed and a large supply of medical equipment.

"Set him down right here, if you will, miss." One of the sisters helped Rose lay the Doctor down. His skin was deathly pale and his eyes were closed.

"He-He was shot-" Rose tried to tell them, her voice cracking terribly. She could not control her tears now.

"He will be all right, ma'am." The sisters assured her calmly as they began to wheel him away. Rose knew all about their treatment of sickness, and in fact knew that the Doctor would insist on looking into this hospital and its procedure as soon as we was well enough. However, Rose had no idea what to expect for a case of such grave injury and bloodloss.

"Doctor…" Rose walked forward with the bed as the nurses began to open his shirt and press thick cloths against the wound.

"Stay here, child." One of the head nurses pushed her away gently. She tried to fight to stay with him, but it was in vain. For a moment she could only stand there, shaking, and helpless, near hysterics and almost ready to collapse.

"You can come with me, miss." The Irish sounding man held his arm out like an old fashioned gentleman as she turned towards him, despite the fact that Rose was covered in blood. "The injury ward is this way. And I'll see what I can do about getting you cleaned up."

Rose took a moment and tried to breathe in deeply as she watched the Doctor disappear behind two white doors. The shock of everything that had happened was still setting it. She inhaled deeply, but was unable to stop herself from sobbing. She looked up to the man beside her and tried to force a nod of thanks as she took his arm.

He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her as they walked through the doors to her right. "The name's Sean Brannigan, by the way." He noted. "My sister is one of the nurses here, and I've been visitin'. Glad I saw you when I did, you looked about ready to collapse!" He said with a slight laugh, trying to lighten the situation. Rose's breath still came in quick, hard sobs. "He'll be alright, dear." Brannigan assured. "The sisters know what they're up to."

Rose nodded as they came to a door in the long hallway and Brannagan turned them in. "Th-Thank you, Brannagan." She said shakily.

"No trouble, miss. You're friend's right through there – as I said, I'll see about getting you cleaned up." He smiled reassuringly as he took his leave. Rose looked down at herself and realized again just how much blood the Doctor had lost. Her entire front, down past he knees, was stained crimson, along with her hands. A haunting red handprint stained her shoulder and part of her sleeve.

Trying to calm herself once more, she breathed deeply as she passed through the last door towards the Doctor. The sign said for her to wait in the observation room where Brannagan had left her, but she did not care.

"What do you mean 'unknown'?" She could hear one of the nurses, or nuns, speaking with an authoritative tone.

"His DNA is off the charts!" She was answered. "The nanogenes have never seen anything like it – neither have I!"

"Ah, there's the girl he was with – What happened dear? Who is he?" Rose found herself addressed by an all-too-calm cat-woman in a strange white hat.

"He... He's the Doctor." She tried to remain in control of herself. "He's a Time-Lord. I mean he's human… I mean…just… He was shot! And…" Rose's control was waning. "Just help him, please!" she cried.

"He is human? Or near enough?" The nurse asked calmly.

"I guess… can you just fix him up like he's human? I mean… tell the nanogenes not to mess with his DNA?" she asked. Rose knew exactly what happened if nanogenes messed with DNA, and she would rather not live through that again.

"We can try." The nurse answered, nodding to her sisters, who sent a command to the nanogenes.

"Come with me, dear. I am Sister Jetta." The nurse took Rose's arm and attempted to lead her into an adjacent room.

"No." Rose protested, walking quickly to the Doctor's side, she took his right hand in both of hers and stroked it gently. "I need to stay with him." She said, looking him over with even more concern. His shirt had been ripped open and his tie thrown to one side. His entire chest and midsection seemed ripped beyond repair, and she was surprised he had any more blood left to lose. "I'm his wife." She added. It was still a nearly foreign concept to her, as they had been married less than three months. But she would not be parted from him now.

"Let the nanogenes do their work." Sister Jetta tried to dissuade her again. Rose shrugged her off. As the two other nurses sent the command, a golden glow began to surround the Doctor's wound, a swarm of healing nanogenes.

The Doctor groaned in pain as the nanogenes went to work, arching his back slightly and attempting to roll onto his uninjured side. Rose held his hand tightly and stroked the side of his face, trying to whisper encouragement. It came out only as a chocked sob as she ran her blood-caked fingers through his hair.

It was everything Rose could do to remind herself that the golden light was not his regeneration, and that the nanogenes would not turn him into a gas-masked eight year old. It was not a painless process, but Rose knew that it was far better than anything that a hospital from her day and age could do. "Shh, you're ok." She whispered to herself just as much as to him. "You're ok."

"The sisters will care for him." The cat-nurse once again tried to pull Rose away. "Are you injured? Come, let us care for you."

"Will he be alright?" Rose ignored the nurse's summons, still leaning over her husband protectively.

"He will be fine, child." The nurse placed a hand on her shoulder and tried to lead her out again.

Rose shrugged off her hand once more. "I want to stay with him." She said.

"I-" Sister Jetta was interrupted.

"He has lost a great deal of blood," One of the other nurses reported. "With his DNA structure, how should we proceed? We cannot duplicate his blood type, and we have no human blood in reserve. As you know, the pure human race is extinct."

"The nanogenes have done all that they can." The other nurse added, "His wound is mended, but he is in the deepest stage of shock."

Rose bit her lip, her worry mounting.

"Is there no way to re-create the blood needed?" Sister Jetta asked.

"It would take too long." Came the answer in a once again all-too-calm tone.

"I could help." Rose said quietly and to herself, thinking over her newest crazy idea. It just might work. And it was worth trying, whatever the cost.

"Excuse me?"

"I could help!" Rose said louder as she herself realized her plan.

"How child?" Sister Jetta raised an eyebrow.

"I'm human." Rose whispered. "I'm human – really, I am!" She told them. "He could... Maybe he could use my blood." Rose said, turning once more to the Doctor, holding his face gently in her hand. His skin was still unnervingly pale. His breath was shallow and his eyes closed, but he no longer seemed to be in pain. "I've got to help him." She told the three nurses defiantly.

"No, we could never-" sister Jetta began to protest.

"He's dying!" Rose answered quickly and loudly, shooting them all a threatening glare. She had run out of tears at last, and her emotional state built up quickly in anger once her plans were denied. "I can help! You have to let me help him!" She at last stood and turned away from the Doctor, immediately beginning to roll up her left sleeve, nearly ordering them to take her blood. "I'm O positive, that has to count for something." She turned to them. "I'd take his place in a second, now give him some of my blood. It's the closest thing you can get." She would not take no for an answer.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Doctor's head rolled lazily to one side. He inhaled deeply through his nose as he began to regain his senses. He could not remember what had happened. Just that there was pain. A lot of pain. And even more blood.

As he woke, his body did an inventory and inspection of itself. He still retained several of his time-lord abilities, even after the meta-crisis. And one of them was a heightened knowledge of his own body. Something was different. His side ached, but that was not it. Something tasted different. It was familiar, but he could not quite place it.

At long last, his eyes slowly opened. Bright, white light greeted them. He blinked and looked around. They seemed to be in a hospital. He hated hospitals, they gave him the creeps. He then remembered that they were at the hospital of New New York, thanks to emergency program five. He hated this hospital even more than normal hospitals. But he would have to deal with that later.

Looking down at himself, he found his side completely mended. He donned a clean white hospital robe. He half wondered what had been done with his blood stained, hole-filled suit. He had quite liked that suit. He then noticed that there was a needle and tube stuck into his right arm. He looked down at it and realized that it was a blood transfusion. His brow wrinkled as he wondered at the blood he was receiving. Surely his Time-Lord-Human DNA had thrown all of the hospitals' blood reserves out of the window. But you never knew, with a place like this.

He found the answer just to his right. As he looked around the room, he caught sight of Rose lying on another hospital bed nearby. She, too, wore a clean white robe. Her skin was frighteningly pale, and she had a bandage wrapped around her arm.

Alarm quickly clouded the Doctor's mind, as he wondered what had befallen his wife while he was unconscious. Had she, too, been injured? Had he not been able to help her? He wanted to curse his own weakness.

With a considerable amount of effort, he forced himself into a sitting position, gritting his teeth hard. His left side was unbelievably sore. But considering he had been shot, it was not as bad as it could have been.

"Rose?" He whispered, coughing on the dryness of his own throat. He slipped his feet off the edge of his bed and extremely shakily stood to his feet. Pulling his IV tube with him, he moved closer to where she lay sleeping, or unconscious, the Doctor did not know which. "Rose?" He questioned again, placing a gentle hand on the side of her face, softly stoking her jawline as he checked for a pulse.

"Hmm.. Doctor?" Rose breathed out his name as her eyes fluttered open. "Doctor!" She was awake at once. "You're awake!" She said. At the same moment that she said it, a wave of nausea washed over the Doctor, and he almost fell to the ground. Rose caught his arms and, standing to her feet, helped him sit down on his own bed.

"You're alright?" The Doctor asked with a small smile as he lay back down.

Rose could not help but grin. "_You're_ all right!" She said happily, feeling almost as if she could cry again, this time out of pure relief.

"I took a bit of a fall, I suppose…" The Doctor was still trying to remember what happened. "I'm glad you caught me."

Rose placed his head in her hands once again. "I told you you'd make it." She said. "Oh, I'm so glad you're alright!" She bent down and kissed his forehead gently and then pulled him up into a tight hug. He smiled, wrapping his left arm around her shoulders. In each others' embrace, they knew that all had been set right in the world.

As she bent over, dizziness took its turn on Rose. She wavered as she tried to stand up, and turned to sit down on the edge of the Doctor's bed.

"You ok?" He asked with a raised eyebrow, catching her hand to steady her.

"I'm fine. Just light headed 's all." She answered, pushing her hair behind her ear. The Doctor gestured towards the bandage on her arm in question.

"Oh, it's just from where the needle was." She answered nonchalantly. The question in his eyebrows deepened. "For the blood transfusion." She added, pointing to what was feeding the needle in his own arm.

The Doctor's mouth opened in surprise.

"Turns out, your unique DNA wouldn't allow for any of the blood donation they have around here. But luckily, it allowed mine." She said with a smile. "I'm glad your Time Lord body knows it's closest of kin when it sees her."

The Doctor looked back and forth between her arm and his. "You're brilliant!" He told her, his mouth open in a wide smile. "That accounts for the difference I felt when I woke up." He added, "I taste like Rose!" He said with a laugh, considering the new blood running through his veins with fondness. Rose laughed at his observation. He _would_ be the one to comment on how a blood transfusion _tasted_, and be able to identify whose blood it was.

"Well, I hope I don't taste too bad." Rose chuckled.

A sly smile covered the Doctor's face. "Not at all." He said happily. "The best taste in the world!"

She leaned forward and kissed him.

"Thank you." The Doctor said earnestly and fondly. He could barely believe all that she had done to save him. Rose Tyler, the same girl he had rescued from the Autons, the same woman that had defeated the Daleks. Now Rose Tyler-Smith, and here she was, saving him again. "I am lucky to have someone like you." He told her. "I mean it."

Rose blushed slightly. "I'm luckier to have you." She said, taking his hand in hers.

"They keep trying to split us up, but they never, ever will." She said with a smile. It had become quite a catch phrase for her. The Doctor smiled back and they shared another kiss. "Now we should both get some rest. You really don't want those cat-nuns bothering you." She said, heading back over to the other bed.

"Thank you." He told her again, holding onto her hand as she walked away. "Rose Tyler. I love you." He said, already beginning to fall back asleep.

"I know." Rose whispered. She came back to him and kissed his cheek. "Goodnight, Doctor. I love you too."

Rose sighed heavily as she let all of the emotion of the last several hours wash over her. She knew that the Doctor would always be the one to save her. And she had determined long ago that it would be her to catch him if he fell. And she always would be.

* * *

><p>Just another note: Sean Brannigan is not supposed to be the same Thomas Kincade Brannigan from the episode "Gridlock", but possibly someone related to him(with an, admittedly, strikingly similar personality). I couldn't resist putting him in there, as I love his character.<p> 


End file.
